My comments re Geely Hopes to Boost Volvo Globally - WSJ.com

Geely Hopes to Boost Volvo Globally - WSJ.com

This will not be the last..

Giving the rising domestic market and some of the top Chinese brands 'wanting' to play in the world market.. fuel by the the internal market means that they WILL be a force to be reckoned with.

Thankfully, a few will fail initially.. time is of the essence now for the western brands to devise/join the fray.. not moving away. ..

may we live in interesting time.

Great video on "Beyond Climate Change".. shame that they used a robot/software for the narrative.. surely we can get some BBC/Reuters/media journalist

sustainable design center

Great video on "Beyond Climate Change".. shame that they used a robot/software for the narrative.. surely we can get some BBC/Reuters/media journalist to chip in (even remotely).. ;-)

how could I have missed this! And Google Begat... - BusinessWeek

And Google Begat... - BusinessWeek: "And Google Begat..."

how could I have missed this article? great work @Spencer

and the slide shows.

The top Angels in Tech

Annie Leonard's "Story of Bottled Water" Should Make Fiji Nervous | Sustainability | Fast Company

Annie Leonard's "Story of Bottled Water" Should Make Fiji Nervous | Sustainability | Fast Company

This is hugely important.. & hopefully something can be done to address it. PLUS the non biodegradable bottles..

all thanks to @FastCompany to bring us to attention (via above link) and Annie Leonard, the star below.

My comments re Sega and Playtech | eGaming Review

Sega and Playtech | eGaming Review

This is definitely landmark for the gaming world, however, joining major brands and gaming does not mean that is a 'sure thing' of making huge amount of money, by converting the massive brand followings.

We have seen Virgin Games doing well within their core target market (women) but sadly the brand and potential following worldwide has not yet been fully exploited for whatever reasons (potential out of control and likely reputational risk for any mistakes is probably too great for Richard, and rightly so!)

Acid test as we all know it is the hard results, and it will only come when all of the following converge:

1.) Brand with 'real' following/reach

2.) new format/products that their following might expect/need/want (on any platform,be it online, mobile or iTV)

3.) trust of the brand (and the platform/technology deployed)

4.) good distribution/discovery/promotion

5.) Consistency/reliability/ good CRM/ hand holding for new converts

World will be the oyster for the major brand/operation that get the above right.

Therefore, for major brands, being careful, doing it right, but consistent is key.. so, maybe Virgin got it right?

Sadly, time might be running out given the signing of Britain's Got Talent/Fremantle and Rank.. if they get it right, with the heavy TV promotion, that might change the landscape (in UK at least).. for the better or worst.

BR

@GarethWong

@LeGambit

Founder CEO of GamBond®

and non profit Special interest group Gambit

http://TheGambit.info

Youtan Poluo flower.. 传说昙婆罗花3000年一开 日前在江西庐山被发现（图）_生活日志_冬天梅花26的日志

传说昙婆罗花3000年一开 日前在江西庐山被发现（图）_生活日志_冬天梅花26的日志: "婆罗花3000年一开"

Wow, the flowers that supposedly only open every 3000yrs and its only 1mm!!

see this other piece on the 5 most rarest plants worldwide.

Fascinating stuff.

;-)

Please don't spread this. as Chinese censor worries (according to new york times) this might encourage mass panic and people flock to the temples.

I will be visiting few temples though but thats what we do when we visit home town in Hong Kong & China... When in Rome.

My comments re reasons for If You Want to See Entrepreneurs, Go to China - BusinessWeek

If You Want to See Entrepreneurs, Go to China - BusinessWeek

These are great observations and analysis of published reports in similar subject.

One should if possible try to appreciate further potential 'reasons' which might not be able to be 'easily emulated' (sometimes understood) in the western world, for example:

1.) Chinese has such cohesive extended family structure (in general) that everyone is 'striving' to be successful from day one in order to 'bring glory' to themselves and their family/ancestor.. For example, every year, Chinese new year (or wedding functions) is the time when elder family members (Grand/Great-grand parents) compare notes and boast about their more successful kids or grand-kids. (in some ways similar to certain Mediterranean cultures, or Greek/Italian), but for Chinese, Obtain & gain "Success" is like a sub-routine in most Chinese's brain (on operating system level).

2.) Comparative weaker social support/benefit structure, means sometimes you have NO CHOICE but start your own business (can you imagine, for those that are NOT entrepreneurial, when they cannot find work and have to move thousands of miles away for even some hourly/daily paid jobs when even that is lucky? and have to fight to get home every year, where your kids & parents are.)

3.) Sadly, the pressure of 1.) and 2.) above means that there are a lot of also unscrupulous people who would CUT all corners to make money (from illegal trades like joining triads/human trafficking to more white collar type blurred line of white or wrong by stuffing JV Partners etc.)

Due to lack of transparency and ease of tracking people and size of China, you also do have people that do move town and societies to 're-invent' themselves.. some for better, some for worst..

To illustrate, southern china (Cantonese speaking), especially Hong Kong, there is a special type of pop (now become classic) music that aim to encourage/inspire to succeed (from school kids to study & people to work hard. artists like Sam Hui), called "勉励" music.. which were mostly created during 60-80's.. success is this much 'programmed' in our Chinese culture.

Not sure how the west can learn from and encourage more entrepreneurship.. but maybe first would be to take away some of the safety blanket ..

tough one.

@GarethWong

Theodore H. Frank: I am not afraid of my Toyota Prius | Washington Examiner

Theodore H. Frank: I am not afraid of my Toyota Prius | Washington Examiner

This make perfect sense

never had time to check properly.

Glad that I am not worried even before reading this article with my old tatty lexus.

get back on top Toyota!

BBC News - Online activism gets tactical with new documentary

BBC News - Online activism gets tactical with new documentary

insightful.

THE TEN TACTICS 1. Mobilise People 2. Witness and Record 3. Visualise Your Message 4. Amplify Personal Stories 5. Just Add Humour 6. Investigate and Expose 7. How to Use Complex Data 8. Use Collective Intelligence 9. Let People Ask the Questions 10. Manage Your Contacts Listen to Colin Grant's full report

My comments re Foursquare Introduces New Tools for Businesses - Bits Blog - NYTimes.com

Foursquare Introduces New Tools for Businesses - Bits Blog - NYTimes.com

This all make perfect sense.

Sadly main holes are:

1.) trusted identity, 'who actually' visited? even twitter do not know who is really behind an account (yes, they have 'verified' for celebrities.. but its NOT full KYC.. they just called them up)

2.) trusted visits, based on my personal experience, there is no way the system knows that I AM REALLY there.. as I can check into NYC whilst I am in cyberia..

this is not to say that this is not a great system, I think it has the backbone/part of the ideas sorted, but based on the few months I have used it in earnest, I think the above two are key holes.

Of course, the alternative at present is none, except if it is likes of Tesco (with their club card) and Harrah's entertainment (with their Total Rewards card)..

it is however a good start.. ;-)

@GarethWong

YouTube - THE NEW DORK - Entrepreneur State of Mind (Jay-Z ft Alicia Keys Spoof) | Grasshopper.com

YouTube
- THE NEW DORK - Entrepreneur State of Mind (Jay-Z ft Alicia Keys Spoof) | Grasshopper.com

This is super funny! ;-)

In response to this reasonable hit:

Girl starved to death while parents raised virtual child in online game | World news | guardian.co.uk

Girl starved to death while parents raised virtual child in online game |
World news |
guardian.co.uk

I agree with Tom @deepcover76

this is very sick and very sad to see people's life and view of the world is augmented so much that they have lost sense of right or wrong, and real life vs. online life.

It is paramount that people 'keep' their aspiration, self worth and goals in check.

Surely 'offline' and 'real' family, especially baby/kids and parents are the most important?? that is another 'life' that brought them into this world or they 'bring' into the world!

The only other time this happens is for drug addicts.. the fact that this above tragedy happened means that for a certain percentage of population, it has same addictive behaviour that people would forget to eat/take care of themselves/family/dependent or killing carer so they can get back to it..

Therefore, at least warning need to be publicised and money spent on research to find out how best to minimise on the potential and further life endangerment.

@GarethWong

==== below might be reason for the above behaviour:

Excessive internet use linked to depression, research shows

"This study reinforces the public speculation that over-engaging in websites that serve to replace normal social function might be linked to psychological disorders like depression and addiction," the article's lead author, Dr Catriona Morrison, said.

Comments on TechCrunch backs the launch of The Coalition for a Digital Economy in the UK

TechCrunch backs the launch of The Coalition for a Digital Economy in the UK

I think it is great to have good initiatives..

but with the limited time I have been observing, there are more 'initiatives' I observe but most fizzle out..

we need to learn from success of GSM/ETSI where to get the buy-in of key stake holders... and comparative failure of most technology standards since (due to everyone wanting to lead the next GSM standard, like many variants of 3Gs, WiMax etc.)..

and it need to be persistent and long lasting..

good luck, hope the initiative will still be not only making noise but delivering in 3/5years time.

BR

@GarethWong

YouTube - OK Go - This Too Shall Pass - Rube Goldberg Machine version

YouTube
- OK Go - This Too Shall Pass - Rube Goldberg Machine version

Brilliant video

I wonder:

1.) how much did it cost and how long was the filming

2.) surely not one 'take' ?

eitherway, great job! :-)

Earthquake in Chile - The Big Picture - Boston.com

Earthquake in Chile - The Big Picture - Boston.com

Very sad and shocking..

our thoughts and prayers are with families affected.